CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL

Change Management Proposal in Occupational Health Settings

Change Management Proposal in Occupational Health Settings

Introduction

An employer's duty to provide a safe and healthy working environment is one of the cornerstones of the contractual relationship between an organisation and its staff. Work can pose dangers to people's health, safety and welfare and the framework of health and safety law which exists in the UK aims to prevent and control such dangers, to set standards and to provide staff with some element of protection. This research provides a brief overview of the UK health and safety legal framework and related matters; it has a particular focus on the likely role and responsibilities of AHP managers in managing health and safety in their own workplaces and departments. The important role of safety representatives and how managers and safety representatives can work together is addressed in some detail. It is intended that managers should be able to dip in and out of this res, as they face new health and safety situations and challenges in their workplaces.

Health and safety in the health services

The key health and safety hazards in the health services which lead to the greatest number of injuries and incidences of ill-health are stress, musculoskeletal disorders, violence and slips, trips and falls.1 The health and social care sector has a higher than average incidence of work- related illness compared with other industries and at 2.4% this has not altered significantly in recent years. Rates for work-related infections and dermatitis in the sector are, perhaps unsurprisingly, well above average.2 Musculoskeletal conditions, especially spine/back disorders are an important cause of work-related illness in the sector and along with stress, depression and anxiety, exhibit some of the highest prevalence rates in any industry. In terms of how these prevalence rates related to lost working days, these estimates are subject to some uncertainty. However, it is clear that the rate in the health sector is above the all-industry average, at an average of 1.8 days per worker per year. As explained further on in this research, the law requires fatalities, certain major injuries as classified under the law, and those causing more than three consecutive days off work to be represented to the Health and Safety Executive.

Some of the statistics resulting from these reports are set out below:

in the last ten years, there have been ten fatalities amongst workers in the

sector

55% of reported major injuries in the sector are caused by slips, trips and falls

14% of major injuries are caused by accidents involving moving and handling

12% of major injuries are caused by violent attacks

of injuries and other incidents causing more than three days off work:

51% are caused by moving and handling incidents

19% of these are caused by slips, trips and falls

15% are caused by violent attacks.

Stress-related absences are not included in the data above.

Health and safety law in the UK

Background to the Health and Safety at Work Act

Since 1974, the central piece of health and safety law in the UK has been the Health ...